Principal's Message - Reddam House School
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Principal’s Message By Mrs Kath Boyd
Dear Parents,
I offer a very warm welcome to all our returning families and a special salutation to the new children, parents and
teachers. We opened our doors on January 11th and have had a calm and positive start to the year. The tears at
drop off are now dissipating quickly as the children happily get distracted by a loving hug or enticing creative
experience. Thank you to all the nurturing teachers who worked alongside me throughout January. The staff here
view each child as beautiful, powerful, competent, creative, curious and full of potential. Furthermore, they
recognise that their job as Reggio Emilia Inspired Teachers is to support these qualities and to challenge children in
appropriate ways. What a fortunate community to have such passionate professionals guiding their children!
The teaching teams prepared a variety of dynamic learning opportunities for the children during the holiday break
and are thrilled to be back in the classroom and getting to know their new ‘students’. Our littlest friends in Stage 1
are settling in beautifully and adore exploring their outdoor space. The Stage 2 children have embraced the daily
lessons that are presented by our Specialist Teachers with gusto. Our Stage 3 and Stage 4 children have been
remarkably grown-up for their teachers, who keep telling me how impressed they are with the maturity, focus and
helpfulness the children are displaying.
Thankfully, COVID-19 restrictions are easing in Australia, and as a result, parents will no longer be required to wear
masks whilst on the campus. Furthermore, temperature checks at our entrance gates will only take place in the
morning - effective today. Amidst all the chaos last year, our school community became stronger . . . and I will
forever be grateful to the parents who demonstrated trust and willingly complied with our stringent, protective
health & safety practices.
The Stage 4 Parent Information Evening took place last week. My sincere thanks to the Stage 4 Teaching Team for
facilitating the excellent event and the parents who attended & contributed. The (socially distant) Stage 1, 2 & 3
Parent Information Evenings will take place over the next two weeks in each classroom or adjoining outdoor space.
This event is extremely important and we do urge one if not both parents to attend. It enables parents to get to
know their child’s teachers; gain insight into the practical workings of the classroom and ELS; understand the daily
routine; ask questions; discover ways in which all the family can be involved and, most importantly, meet other
parents. Please note that this is a child-free event.
2021 Parent Information Evenings (6pm – 7.30pm)
• 1R & 1E: Wednesday 3rd February
• 3R: Thursday 4th February
• 2R, 2E & 3E: Tuesday 9th February
On these Information Evenings, each Core Teacher will highlight the importance of open communication channels
between home and school. When we share information, everyone can be aware of children’s strengths and
challenges and can work together to support children’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Principal’s Message Continued... By Mrs Kath Boyd
‘Communicating together involves a two-way sharing of information and helps to develop a common understanding,
meaning it is easier for parents and teachers to support one another. Effective communication also helps families and
teachers to build a trusting partnership and develop honest and respectful relationships. When families and teachers
have a genuine interest in one another, people are able to be open about their thoughts and feelings. When families
communicate effectively, this allows early childhood staff to understand what is happening at home or how they
would like their children’s behaviour managed in the service. When teachers communicate effectively, parents and
carers are able to understand what is happening in their child’s day and how they are progressing at the
service.’ (Kid’s Matter)
Parents are encouraged to:
1.Chat with your child’s Core Teacher during morning drop off or in the afternoon before 4pm.
* Messages given to teachers between 4pm – 6pm will be passed onto Core Teachers the next morning.
2. Email your child’s Core Teacher if you are unable to chat in person or if information needs to be shared
throughout the day:
Stage 1R natalie.horstman@reddamels.com.au Stage 1E charity.acera@reddamels.com.au
Stage 2R sara.haddidi@reddamels.com.au Stage 2E skye.parker@reddamels.com.au
Stage 3R grace.nolan@reddamels.com.au Stage 3E deb.walsh@reddamels.com.au
Stage 4R emily.carvalho@reddamels.com.au Stage 4E lauren.hall@reddamels.com.au
3. Contact Jennifer or myself on (02) 9415 8099 or the following email addresses if something urgent arises:
Enrolments Officer / Principal’s PA jennifer.smith@reddamels.com.au
Principal kath.boyd@reddamels.com.au
4. Email your child’s Core Teacher or me if you require a private meeting.
5. Read and contribute to the Learning Journals & Student Observations (Tapestry), Kiosk Messages (posted by
the Core Teacher on the class iPad when necessary), the Weekly Reddam Newsletter, Provocation Displays and
emails from your Core Teacher, Jennifer or me.
6. Note information that is displayed on or near the sign-in desks.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.
Pictured above: Charity (1E Core Teacher) and Ayden (1E). Pictured below: Jasper, Ryo, Grace, Hudson and Jessica (3E).
2
Stage 1R By Ms Natalie Horstman
Welcome to 2021 lovely Stage 1R families! Miss Doris and I (Miss Natalie) are thrilled to be teaching your
children. This term we will facilitate experiences in our various indoor and outdoor learning spaces which will
aim to enhance each child’s physical, emotional, cognitive, language and social abilities.
Since the school reopened on January 11th we have welcomed back Felix, Emily, Luca and Felicity. New
friends have also joined 1R - Rory, Harold and Grace. We’ve focused on settling and building genuine
relationships with the children to promote their sense of belonging. “Belonging is about having a secure
relationship with or a connection with a particular group of people. When children feel a sense of belonging
and sense of pride in their families, their peers, and their communities, they can be emotionally strong, self-
assured, and able to deal with challenges and difficulties. This creates an important foundation for their
learning and development.” (Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, p.25). To build on this sense of
belonging, we have embraced the children’s interests in our daily program and started creating our Family
Tree.
Our provocation for this term is Storytelling, Songs & Nursery Rhymes. Introducing young children to varying
forms of literature encourages communication and the recognition of sounds. During Week 1 and 2, the
stories, songs and nursery rhymes we presented focused on animals. The children immersed themselves into
the Animal World, extending their understanding of the world around them.
Our focus of Week 1 was Farm Animals, and we enjoyed singing Old MacDonald had a Farm whilst using
puppets. The children interacted willingly, singing together and making the sounds of the different animals.
A Small World Farm adorned with wooden farm animals was very popular. During our group times we
introduced nursery rhymes including Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Five Little Ducks and enjoyed listening to
songs by The Wiggles.
Our Stage 1R friends are demonstrating enthusiasm with the variety of books that we have in the room, and
the Book of the Week was Farmyard Friend by Lisa Mallarkey.
During Week 2 we focused on Australian Animals, and introduced a range of animals who reside in our
country - including koalas, kangaroos and crocodiles. We incorporated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Culture
by encouraging the children to engage in a creative experience with cotton tips using the colours red,
yellow and black (representing the Aboriginal Flag). Our little ones also demonstrated their engagement and
enhanced their fine motor skills to produce Gum Nut artworks.
Our Book of Week 2 was Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan. After reading the story together, the children
and teachers collected a range of natural ingredients from our outdoor environment. We then mixed leaves,
little gum nuts and some fragrant parsley from our garden together and made our very own Wombat Stew.
What a wonderful start to the year!
Miss Natalie and Miss Doris
3
Stage 1R: All This Australia
4
Stage 1R: Farm Animals
5
Stage 1R: Extra Snaps
6
Stage 1E By Ms Charity Acera
‘While we try to teach our children all about life, our children
teach us what life is all about.’ (Angela Schwindt)
A very warm welcome to Term One, for the year 2021 to our new and returning families. We are all
thrilled to be part of this important learning journey with you and your children. It is our pleasure (Miss
Heather, Miss Mia, Miss Suki and myself) to see you and be with your sweet children for this school
year. It has been a joy having Jasper, Shihan, Ethan Li, Ethan Lin, Gaby and Mello with us. We are
looking forward to discovering many exciting things with you and with your children and creating
meaningful learning experiences over the months ahead. We are positive that this year will be an
outstanding year for all of us - especially with your enthusiastic cooperation.
The past two weeks started with introducing children to a new routine in Stage 1E. To feel safe and
secure, children need a consistent routine throughout the day. We have learnt to put our drink bottles
on the trolley and get started for the day! Our morning group time has also been established to
promote a sense of belonging amongst our children. To build on this, each morning we sing the Tick
Tock - Good Morning song to each child, and as a group we promote a sense of community. Next we
read a story together and engage in their favourite nursery rhymes using stick and finger puppets. This
develops literacy skills but is also a time to share joy and laughter.
Significantly, as we began the new school year, we acknowledged the rich heritage and diverse
culture of our land, Australia and we planned a provocation focused on Australia, My Home. We
embraced the land’s culture and heritage through storytelling, painting and sensory experiences
using natural resources. The children were immersed in activities that introduced them to the world
they live in and promoted an understanding of the multicultural school community that surrounds us
and offers a sense of belonging.
Our learning experiences ranged from sensory learning experiences using natural resources to
engaging activities at group time. The children fed Little Barry the Bilby with gum nuts, seed & leaves;
made a gooey, brewery, yucky, chewy Wombat Stew and pretended to steam their own dumplings
& pork buns. We also catered to the children’s creativity when they were invited to create abstract
artwork and process art pieces using natural materials such as gum nut leaves, gum nut seeds and
other loose natural pieces.
Understanding the 1E children, their needs and interests and getting to know the ‘whole child’ is
important, so we greatly value each piece of information that you have provided to us about your
child. Feel free to contact me and my esteemed co-teachers if ever you have any questions.
Miss Charity, Miss Heather, Miss Mia and Miss Suki
7
Stage 1E: Australian Animals (Part 1)
8
Stage 1E: Australian Animals (Part 2)
9
Stage 1E: Extra Snaps
10Stage 2R By Ms Sara Haddadi
“The soul is healed by being with children.” (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Over the past two weeks we've been helping the 2R children to develop their sense of belonging to
their new environment. Belonging is central to being and becoming in that it shapes who children
are and who they can become.
We don't just want the children to ‘fit in’ their new environment . . . instead we want them to
belong. Fitting in requires the children to assess a situation and become who they need to be in
order to be accepted and loved. With belonging, on the other hand, we don't need to change
who we are to be accepted; we just need to be who we are!
Manoela, Vivian and I (Sara) will support and nurture the children as they learn and develop a
sense of identity. We are committed to creating an environment in which children feel comfortable
to explore and to feel connected, valued and respected. As they play, learn and try new things,
they will develop an understanding of their own identity. Our aim is to build positive relationships
with each child to help them feel safe and secure. And once we develop and maintain these
strong attachments with them, it will have a positive effect on their whole wellbeing. We've been
discovering all their interests so we can turn their natural interests into a learning opportunity to show
them that the environment they are in is a safe, fun and interesting place to be.
During Week 1, we developed the children’s knowledge of Australian native animals through small
world play experiences. Habitats were created for koalas, emus, kangaroos, crocodiles and
platypuses. Children engaged their creativity by moving the animals around and creating new
habitats for them.
The children enjoyed our ocean themed water play experience which included a variety of
miniature sea creatures. We all pretended to be sea creatures exploring underwater. They
absolutely loved splashing in the water, catching different kinds of fish, sorting sea creatures in our
rock pool, watching the ripples in the water form and imitating the sounds that various sea
creatures make.
It became evident that the 2R children were fascinated with animals, so in Week 2 this became our
focus. Young children learn more effectively when they are engaged in everyday activities that are
based on their interests. We created our own Jungle Small World, offering the children opportunities
to enrich their language, imaginative play and storytelling skills. This engaging sensory experience
allowed the children to play, explore and investigate.
11Stage 2R By Ms Sara Haddadi
The children also enjoyed an Oobleck Animal Party . . . what a crazy substance! It is not a solid or
a liquid! It moves like a liquid but we could break it and hold it (like a solid). 2R children poured,
smooshed and explored the texture of this funny substance. This experience encouraged fine
motor development and sensory learning. Through play-based experiences such as these,
children learn valuable social, cognitive and physical skills. It is often through play that children
from a very early age engage and interact with the world around them!
Over the past two weeks the children were encouraged to participate in many artistic
opportunities, which aimed to engage their creativity and flexible thinking skills and resulted in
some magnificent, original artworks. We used model zoo animals as painting tools, created zebra
patterns using shaving cream and black food colouring, produced different tones of blue by
mixing colours and used pom poms to create ocean inspired paintings. All these experiences
enabled the children to express themselves in new ways, gain confidence and perseverance.
Lastly, thank you 2R parents for making us feel welcomed, trusting us to be a part of the ‘village’
that gets to help raise your child and for the opportunity to make a difference in their life.
Miss Sara, Miss Manoela and Miss Vivian
12Stage 2R: Australian Animals
13Stage 2R: Zoo Animals
14Stage 2R: Extra Snaps
15Stage 2E By Ms Skye Parker
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
We welcomed the 2E 2021 children into the year by focusing on Our Holidays. We invited the
children to explore via sensory experiences the sights, sounds, smells and textures of what we may
see on our holidays. Examples include the beach (sand, shells and water) and rainforest flora and
fauna. We supported the children to make meaningful connections with their teachers, peers and
explore their new environment to its full potential. We were able to sample the new tools the 2E
children will be mastering this year which will further develop hand-eye coordination.
Our literacy focus centred mainly around stories about feelings, as the children navigated their first
week with us and the understandably overwhelming emotions they may feel throughout the day.
The 2E children were very excited to explore the wider campus as we use fundamental movement
skills while walking, running, jumping, climbing on the rope or enjoying the large grassy space at
the top of the school. We discussed colours, shapes and numbers to gauge where each
individual’s understanding lies.
We enjoyed musical experiences together using a combination of children requested songs and
teacher supported dances. This has been an important time in the 2E room as we sing, dance and
build trusting relationships. The teaching team in 2E view the first weeks a crucial time for children’s
social and emotional well being and we are on course for a wonderful year of learning as a calm
mind is a mind ready to expand.
“What a child can do in cooperation today, she/he can do alone tomorrow.” (Lee Vygotsky)
We had a wonderful second week and it was heart warming to see how quickly the children
embraced their new room. To encourage a sense of belonging and familiarity we asked each
family to bring photos to school that represented activities enjoyed by all family members. Thank
you for the wonderful response everyone! We decorated our Belonging Tree with many family
photos which was a wonderful provocation for the children to share their memories and things that
bring them joy. If a little friend was missing home we have encouraged them to touch their family
photos and this has been a welcome comfort when someone was in need.
We offered children engaging ways to become familiar with symbols that we use every day. In our
sensory tray, children needed to excavate letters of the alphabet then find the correct shape
position in the jigsaw puzzle using either the alphabet, numbers or shapes. This stimulated
conversation around existing knowledge and extended children’s learning.
16Stage 2E By Ms Skye Parker
Our collaging skills were a focus during Week 2. To promote children’s confidence in using glue
sticks whilst encouraging numeracy and shape recognition, we used foam numbers to explore
texture and emergent number skills. Secondly, we used shapes to collage into a representation
of a house. This led to conversations around who lives at home and discussions around families,
which come in all shapes and sizes and that is ok!
Our outdoor fundamental movement time saw children requesting climbing on the ‘Spider Web.’
This vertical rope climb is undertaken one child at a time and we cheer our classmates
individually. Our 2E children smile so wide when they reach the top and are recognised for their
bravery and skill.
Our literacy focus continues to centre around emotions as children find themselves in the
narrative bringing more understanding to their own internal world. 2E has settled nicely as a result
and we can begin our deeper dive into socialisation and learning beyond the home sphere.
Looking forward to a fabulous year ahead!
Miss Skye, Miss Tracey & Miss Georgia
17Stage 2E: Seaside Sensory Art and House Collages
18Stage 2E: Rainforest Exploration and Family Photos
19Stage 2E: Extra Snaps
20Stage 3R By Ms Grace Nolan
“Children recognise the intrinsic value of animals not because of what
animals do for us, what we can take from them, or how they help
us, but simply because they are living creatures.” (Born, 2018)
As we all returned from our break, the children and teachers have been ready to jump straight
into learning and becoming a part of our new room in 3R!
Learning through play is what children do best, during the first week back, we observed the
children and their interests, a common theme during the first week was Turtles. Some children
began discussing it in the sandpit with a teacher, “They are very brave!” one child stated. Miss
Margaret then elaborated by further explaining that little turtles go off into the ocean on their own
and are very brave - just like us when we come to school and our parents have to go to work. The
children then incorporated turtles into their drawings and dramatic play. This was the starting point
for us as we then began to explicitly plan to learn about turtles!
Similarly, when we were exploring the lush outdoor space behind the Stage 4 rooms, a few
children found cicada shells. They were so intrigued by them that we began to look around for
more to collect and investigate in our room. This was the beginning of our minibeast exploration.
Over these two weeks we concentrated on learning about ‘Turtles’ and ‘Cicadas’. We yarned at
our Morning Meeting - a new concept for the children. Coming together in the morning before
we share a meal, we all sit together in a circle, sing our ‘Acknowledgment to country’ song and
discuss the day together as a group. During this time, the children are invited to contribute to the
yarn - as it's the beginning of the year, we have been talking about class expectations and
policies, the children have been contributing ideas and collaborating on these as a whole class.
At our Morning Meeting we also talk about interests, it is through these discussions we are able to
find out more of what the children know and what they would like to know more about. Each day
we talked about cicadas and turtles, sharing the shells around that our families had collected,
looking at the Indigenous names for turtles and sea creatures.
During one of our small group sessions, we learnt about the different characteristics of turtles - shell
textures, colours, sizes, species and how they lay eggs. This experience incorporated sorting and
categorising for early numeracy skills. To extend upon this learning the children made turtle eggs
using paper mache, squeezing the paper and glue mixture and in the process enhancing their
fine motor skills.
21Stage 3R By Ms Grace Nolan
Another small group activity took us outside the classroom and into the garden where we read
the book Searching for Cicadas by Lesley Gibbes. The children then were able to look at the four
different types of cicadas in the book and were invited to draw them using their pencils and clip-
boards.
These weeks have been imperative in getting to know the children in our class, supporting them
as they navigate their new environment, friendships and creating secure and positive relation-
ships with our teachers. We are very much looking forward to continuing our investigation as a
group!
Grace, Pawinee and Margaret
22Stage 3R: Creating Insects Using Natural Resources
23Stage 3R: Animal Sensory Play
24Stage 3R: Paper Mache Turtle Eggs and Extra Snaps
25Stage 3E By Mr Luan Oliveira
Welcome back to school, everyone! The teachers are very glad to embrace such a wonderful
group of children into our classroom. Not only that, we also welcomed 3E’s new Core Teacher,
Deb Walsh. What a great addition to the team she has been! It is amazing how well the children
have settled. We are looking forward to having a fun and knowledgeable year together!
We thank the amazing set of parents for entrusting us with your children. Your respectful and
friendly attitudes in conjunction with the quick but warm goodbyes in the morning have certainly
helped the teachers a lot in the settling process whilst we have bonded with all of your children.
We value teacher-parent collaboration.
Part of the process included adapting to a new routine. Every day we gather for our morning
group time. We greet each other, say the children’s version of the Acknowledgement of Country
and then are ready to embark on our learning journey. During this period, we have also been
discussing our classroom rules to help us to work together.
After getting to know each child, their likes and dislikes, and creating respectful relationships with
them, we then started to embark on our term’s provocation. For Term 1, Stage 3E’s provocation is
The World Around Me. We will be exploring children’s sense of belonging - being able to
recognise and identify themselves, the feeling of having a home and a loving family, fitting in at
school, acknowledging the community around them and understanding and celebrating their
individual culture.
Each week we will aim to help each child explore their identity and how they perceive the world
through group discussions, storybooks, dramatic play, songs and learning experiences that are
challenging, fun, play-based and related to their interests. If you ever have any suggestions,
comments or wish to contribute to our program somehow, our doors are open.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Luan, Deb & Priya
26Stage 3E: Getting to Know Each Other (Part 1)
27Stage 3E: Getting to Know Each Other (Part 2)
28Stage 3E: Getting to Know Each Other (Part 3)
29Stage 4R & 4E By Ms Lauren Hall & Ms Emily Carvalho
“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river
flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water.
Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning
and how to learn.” (Loris Malaguzzi – Founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach)
Welcome to the beginning of the year in Stage 4! We have been absolutely delighted to meet
you and your children, and are so excited to embark on this part of their learning journey with
them. Miss Lauren and Miss Emily have been Early Childhood Teachers for many years now, and
we love providing stimulating and engaging learning experiences within our classroom where
we can learn alongside your children.
During the first two weeks of the year, the Stage 4 children have engaged in a range of
experiences that focus on building relationships, as well as learning all about Australia and
Indigenous Perspectives. Our storybooks, music sessions and classroom experiences have
invited the children to explore Australian animals, Indigenous culture and create a sense of
belonging to our classroom. Every morning we greet each other by saying “Good Morning” to
our teachers and friends, and then practise our Acknowledgement of Country. This is a way of
showing respect to the Traditional Owners of the land and encourages the children to engage
with diversity and respect, a key outcome of the Early Years Learning Framework.
“Here is the land, here is the sky, here are my friends, and here am I. We
Acknowledge the Guringai People on whose land we learn and play. Warami!”
Our first storybook of the day usually acts as the foundation for the day’s teaching and learning
experiences. Some of the children’s favourite books have been Possum Magic by Mem Fox,
The Rainbow Serpent by Rick Roughsey, and The Lamington Man by Kel Richards. Through
shared reading, children have the opportunity to build on their foundational understanding of
literacy by furthering their textual awareness, understanding phonics, and comprehension skills.
Throughout the day we offer many learning experiences for children, fostering all levels and
areas of development. The children have loved dramatic play, construction and sensory
experiences. In the Home Corner, the children have been cooking up a storm and inviting their
friends over to enjoy the spread. In the construction area, some of the children have been
creating amazing stations for different types of emergency transport vehicles.
30Stage 4R & 4E By Ms Lauren Hall & Ms Emily Carvalho
The children have also enjoyed some science lessons with Miss Emily based on Physical Science.
Physical Science or Physics is the study of the physical world. Physics in early childhood is centred
around understanding cause and effect, movement and force, gravity, magnetism and energy.
This may sound a little complicated but really – it's not. We have made balloons zip across the
room, tea bags fly, and submerged candles under water. The children have also enjoyed
making their own fizzy experiments using colourful vinegar and bicarbonate soda.
Towards the end of our day, Stage 4 engages with music lessons with Miss Lauren. We’ve had a
great introduction to music through singing, movement and percussion instruments to further
understandings around beat and rhythm. We’ve started to learn songs including Home Among
the Gumtrees, Cow’s in the Kitchen, and Ten Cupcakes in the Baker’s Shop. In the spirit of
Australia Day, we also learnt our National Anthem as a great way to show pride for our beautiful
country we are so lucky to live in.
What a busy first two weeks we’ve had! We look forward to continuing our learning journey
together.
Miss Emily, Miss Lauren, Mrs Rebecca, Mrs Connie, Miss Allegra and Miss Vivian
31Stage 4R & 4E: Fun Science Experiments
32Stage 4R & 4E: Exploring Indigenous Perspectives
33Stage 4R & 4E: Exploring Australian Animals & Habitats (Part 1)
34Stage 4R & 4E: Exploring Australian Animals & Habitats (Part 2) &
Extra Snaps
35Stage 4R & 4E: Literacy & Numeracy Experiences
36Playball By Ms Lauren Guttman
Hi champs and welcome to our Playball Presentation today. My name is Lauren and I would just
love to be your friend! I cannot wait to introduce you to all my fun games and activities, so let’s get
started . . .
We started with the Sticky, icky, wicky glue game. Lauren pretended to put glue all over our hands.
We ran around the court and when Lauren blew her whistle, we looked for a friend and stuck our
hands together. Every time Lauren blew her whistle, we found a new friend! We know that at Play-
ball we are all friends together and it doesn’t matter who we stick with. Mums and dads, you
should hear us say to our friend “Hello my special friend” or “Hi my new friend!”.
Lauren also brought in a “friend” with her today – a ball on a string. The children just loved Lauren’s
“friend”! She ran after us and tried to catch us with this crazy ball. She then dangled the ball over
our heads and we had to try and catch the ball. We also had a turn to kick the ball as hard as we
could . . . it’s pretty tricky trying to balance on one foot and doing a big kick!
We collected “Cockroaches” which escaped from Lauren’s “Cockroach box”. Lauren taught us
that if we see that our friend doesn’t find a cockroach, it might be a lovely idea to share a cock-
roach with our friend. True sports are really great at sharing!
Next we played “the bunny and the burrow” game – ask your children. A great activity to foster
listening skills!
We then all stood in our own hoop and Lauren instructed us what to do – jump into the hoop, out
of the hoop, over the hoop, walk around it with hands on heads, and so on...
We all had a turn to spin the hoop, wait for it to fall onto the ground and jump in. Spin, spin, spin . . .
and jump!
We then ended the lesson with our special Playball Team song:
Playball, Playball is our name.
Playball, Playball is our game.
We have fun on the court.
We are all very good sports!
Thank you for the fabulous time! I just loved the way we all laughed and had fun together. See you
next time!
37Yoga By Mrs Connie Ko
Hello everyone! My name is Connie and I am very excited to be teaching your child/ren yoga
this year and just wanted to introduce myself. I've been practicing yoga for many years. My own
yoga teacher has taught me many positive aspects of incorporating yoga into my exercise to
help balance my body. I have always found yoga to be the perfect expression that one can
suddenly gain an insight into our body and mind. Yoga can help keep us even and open our
energy flow which can free up blockages in the body, not only physically, but also emotionally
and mentally, leaving the whole body balanced with a wonderful sense of harmony.
During our first few weeks of yoga we have had a lot of fun learning a few basic poses and
positions as well as how to regulate our breathing. Deep breaths in, hold it in and slowly breath
out.
We began each lesson by singing an opening song called “Namaste”. Many of the children
already knew the song and were excited to hear me sing something so familiar. Namaste is a
Sanskrit phrase that means "I bow to you" and is a sign of respect to the other person you are
saying it to.
Next, I taught the children how to stretch their limbs and move their bodies into different positions
like the “downward dog”, the “stretching cat” and “lion” poses. The children really enjoyed
wiggling and stretching their body. Stretching is a great way for the children to improve their
range of motion, agility and blood flow to the muscles.
After trying some traditional yoga poses, the children practiced mimicking some more complex
stretches by copying the way I positioned my body. They were very eager to attempt all the
poses especially the ones that involved balancing!
To end the class, we had a few minutes of “Shavasana” (a rest pose) to help relax the children
and get them ready to go out and learn again.
I had a lot of fun with the children doing yoga! See you next week!
38Mandarin By Ms Chloe Lin
Hello! Nín hǎo!
My name is Chloe and I will be teaching Mandarin this year. Mandarin is my first language and I
enjoy sharing the Chinese language and culture with the children.
During the last couple of weeks, we have been learning a ‘Hello Song’ in Mandarin called “Ni
Hao”. Many of the older children remembered this song from last year and were very excited to
sing it slow and then fast as they fine tuned their pronunciation of Nín hǎo.
We then practiced saying facial features and emotions in Mandarin. I brought out my special
magnet face friend and invited the children to add the nose, eyes, eyebrows, mouth, ears and
hair to the face while saying the related Mandarin word.
Next, we learned our family members’ names in Mandarin and sang the ‘Daddy Finger, Daddy
Finger’ song in Mandarin. It was exciting to see the children connect the familiar English version of
the song with the Mandarin version.
With the older Stages, I introduced a new song about numbers and how old we are (Nǐ jǐ suì). It
was wonderful to hear them being able to recall how to say their age in Mandarin. It was also
really great to see some of the children who already speak Mandarin helping their friends
pronounce the words. How kind!
To end the lesson, we did something really special. As many of you may already know, Chinese
New Year is also approaching! We all gathered together to watch a short clip of the famous lion
dances that occur during this event. I explained to the children that during this period, families
gift each other red envelopes which can be filled with money or something special. I then shared
my own lion costume which I created! The children thought this was amazing and all wanted to
know more about the ‘Lion Dance’.
Looking forward to teaching you more Mandarin next week!
39Drama By Ms Xanthe Wills
How exciting to be starting 2021 back with ‘Drama’! I’d like to introduce myself - My name is
Xanthe and I’m so happy to be back at Reddam ELS Lindfield this year.
The past 2 weeks we have been exploring “What is drama?” To help us understand this, we had a
visit from puppet “Daisy” in Stages 1, 2 and 3. Stage 4 explored these concepts without Daisy to
help them.
Actors need to be good at copying. We copy different people so we can become that
character. Daisy loves to play “Daisy says”. We play games like “Daisy says” in drama to
encourage spatial and body awareness. To play, Daisy called out things like “touch your nose”,
“clap your hands” and “tickle your toes”, and the children were encouraged to copy each
action. For Stages 3 and 4, if Daisy didn’t say “Daisy says…” the children were told not to copy!
This caused a lot of giggling and the children did a fabulous job of following Daisy’s tricky
instructions.
Daisy then wanted to see if we could be different characters. Actors have to be good at
pretending. The children became sneaking mice, roaring lions, and tall giraffes.
We then explored our emotions by using our faces. Actors need to be able to show their
emotions. The children showed me (and Daisy) angry, sad, confused, bored, shocked, excited,
and happy.
Actors need to have good spatial awareness. The children spread into their own space, and then
pantomimed shrinking small and growing tall. The children started big and became small. Stage
4 were encouraged to use their faces to express how they felt about the box shrinking and
growing. Afterwards, I called out various pairings for Stage 4 like “touch the floor with only 1 hand
and 1 foot”, “Put 4 little fingers together”, or “Put 2 ears together” to further our work with spatial
awareness.
Thank you for a wonderful first couple of weeks of Drama. I can’t wait to come back and learn
with you all again next week!
40Music By Ms Allegra Wallace-Wells
Hello! My name is Allegra and I am so excited to be getting to know your children through our
music lessons each week!
During our first week together, I introduced the children to my special friend, “Mr. Guitar.” The
children were so excited to meet him and we took him on a musical journey, learning percussion,
beat, rhythm, pitch and lots of other fundamental elements of music on the way!
We then learnt about pitch. The children identified some animals and different objects that have
high sounds such as a squeaky mouse and low sounds like a rumbling car engine. It was a lot of
fun trying to mimic these noises.
To finish off the lesson, we listened to a final song that incorporated high sounds, low sounds, soft
and loud sounds as well as different forms of percussion that we learnt earlier.
Overall, the children had a fun time learning about their own instrument and differentiating be-
tween different sounds and actions through music.
Looking forward to seeing you next week!
41Happy Birthday!
A very happy birthday to all Reddam Lindfield children and teachers
who celebrated their special day in January. We wish you all the best!
02/01—Skye (2E Teacher) 03/01—Angus (3R) 03/01—Charlotte (3R)
07/01—Suki (Teacher) 08/01—Jackson (3R) 08/01—Nathan (4E)
09/01—Emily (3R) 11/01—Alexander (3R)
42Happy Birthday!
A very happy birthday to all Reddam Lindfield children and teachers
who celebrated their special day in January. We wish you all the best!
15/01—Jacob (4R) 19/01—Marcus (3R) 23/01—Justin (4R)
23/01— Mason (3R) 23/01—Myra (2R) 25/01—Penelope (4E)
28/01—Kieran (4R) 29/01—Xavier (4E)
43You can also read
